Building on the earlier work of Thorndike, B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) began to elaborate and extend Thorndike’s ideas on learned behavior. Skinner differentiated between what he termed respondent (or reflexive) behavior, and learned (or operant) behavior. Operant behavior could be characterized by “the observable effects it has on the environment. Operant conditioning, therefore, is learning in which the probability of a response is changed by a chance in its environment (PM, n.d.).” Reinforcement and Punishment Two concepts important to an understanding of operant conditioning are reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcers and punishment are specific types of consequences.
Operant Conditioning Paper Johnny Williams PSY/390 July 9, 2012 Gary Burk Operant Conditioning Paper Operant conditioning is defined as a method of learning with the intention of rewards and punishments that solely depends on a person’s behavior. Through the process of operant conditioning, a correlation is completed flanked by a behavior and an end result for that behavior. Operant conditioning was first introduced by a behaviorist by the name of B.F.Skinner. As a behaviorist, Skinner understood that inner thoughts and motivations could not be utilized to give reasons for behavior. In its place, he then went further to recommend that, we as humans ought to come across only at the external, observable causes of human behavior.
Skinner – Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior. Operant conditioning was coined by behaviorist Skinner, which is why you may occasionally hear it referred to as Skinnerian conditioning. As a behaviorist, Skinner believed that internal thoughts and motivations could not be used to explain behavior. Instead, he suggested, we should look only at the external, observable causes of human behavior.
P1-Explain the principal psychological perspectives In this assignment I will be explaining the psychological perspectives and outline the main points and will talk about all the conditioning such as operant conditioning and classical conditioning. I will describe the learning theories used by the physiologists to outline the behaviouristic approach, psychodynamic approach, humanistic approach and biological approach. Behaviourist psychologist Pavlov (classical conditioning) and Skinner (operant conditioning) are the main two thinkers which are related to this type of perspective. We can understand the behaviour an individual has learnt by just looking at them. Human behaviour is the result of experience.
Ellis, whose work was influenced by Alfred Adler & behaviourists John Dollard & Joseph Wolpe, began developing what is now known as Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). His model was based on the philosophy that our perception of what is happening, affects us more greatly than the actual events themselves. Psychiatrist Aaron Beck also began looking at how our behaviour is determined by attitudes & assumptions derived from previous experiences & how these could be a block to behavioural therapy on its own. He began to develop his own model using techniques that amalgamated both behavioural & cognitive therapy, which he called Cognitive Therapy. This model has evolved into what we now recognise as CBT.
Conditioning is structure of many parts, some of the most important ones been operant conditioning, positive and negative reinforcement, and reinforcement schedule. The few parts of conditioning that are mention are enough to influence a person's behavior. The term or word conditioning is used to describe the actual procedures that modify a desired performance, (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2013). Therefore, operant conditioning is used in behavioral psychology and is a method to learn behavior. Operant conditioning is a concept developed by behaviorist B.F. Skinner.
According to B.F. Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning, is punishment of unwanted behaviors or reinforcement of good behaviors more effective in childrearing? B.F. Skinner believed that it is more productive to study behaviors that can be observed rather than mental thinking, and therefore created his theory of operant conditioning. In 1938 when Skinner coined the term operant conditioning he stated that it means roughly changing behaviors by the use of reinforcement, which is given after the desired response1. Reinforcement is the strengthening of behaviors by either adding to a situation or removing something from a situation. Skinner studied the effects both positive and negative reinforcement had on rats.
To analyze behavior experimentally, Skinner developed operant conditioning procedures. In this he manipulated the consequences of an organism’s behavior to see how it would affect future behavior. So the consequences “operate” on the environment, thereby affecting it and affecting future consequences. Unlike classical conditioning, operants are not elicited by any specific stimuli. Rather the response to a stimulus “operates” on the environment and thus creates a different response when it affects the environment differently.
Instrumental Conditioning Paper Instrumental conditioning sometimes stated as operant conditioning was developed by scientist B.F. Skinner. Instrumental conditioning one of the methods of learning were an individual adapts to the velocity and the manifestation of individual's behavior because of the relationship of the contact of a stimulus (Terry, 2009). Instrumental conditioning is different from the learning method of classical conditioning. Classical conditioning produces changes in behavior by associating a transformation in behavior with a neutral stimulus being frequently matching with a stimulus that triggers a reflexive reaction until the previously neutral stimulus alone can induce a similar reaction (Bernstein, Clarke-Stewart, Penner, Roy, & Wickens, 2000). Whereas in instrumental conditioning, should be modified based on the surrounding and preserved by the significance of the behavior of the individual.
Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning is a technique of learning that happens through positive and negative reinforcements. Sometimes called instrumental conditioning, a correlation is made between a behavior and the reward or consequence that follows the behavior. The reinforcement is a factor in whether same behavior will happen again or not. Burrhus Frederic Skinner, better known as B.F. Skinner is known for his approach or view of operant conditioning. Skinner liked Watson’s ideas regarding human behaviorism.